Amusement apparatus.



1510.758341; PATENTBDAPR.26,1904.

H. G. TRAVER L o. W. NIoHoLs.

AMUSBMENT APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 00T. 3, 1902.

N0 MODEL.

ERS co. vno'murna. wnsmucon. o 'e UNITED STAT-Esi1 Patented April 26, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY G. TRAvER, or- NEwsYoRK, N.` Y.,'AND CHARLES wNICHoLS, or NEWARK, EEw JERSEY. ASSIGNCRS ro :rRAvER CIRCLE Swine Co., A

CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

' AMUSEMENT AFFA-Rii'riiS.`

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 758,341, dated.' April 26, 1 904.

Application filed OctotekrxS, 1902.

, panying drawings, which form a part thereof.

' Our inventionrelates to amusement apparatus, `and more particularly to a class `thereof analogous to the well-known type of roundy A. The'object of the inventionis toprovide an amusement apparatusof'this type wherein the cars' andoccupants will be forced to travel in a path of gradiially-increased radius and-alti.-

tude, whereby .the occupants willrecei've in addition toA thepleasurable sensation of the ordinary roundabout those attendantupon the increasedspeed and the gradual rise from and return tothe ground or y'starising-level.'

A further object is to provide an apparatus of this` type the use of which will be attended with' no extraordinary dangers to life or'limb and which .willbe furnishedjwith a variety of safetyappliances; to guardy against the accidental-and T3-91.9136 return of 'the vcars tothe starting-level while thedevice'is in operation;

to overcome the effects of the Contact of the cars with .the groundor 'other abutment at "the startingleyel when returning to rest under normal conditions; toavloid the" dangers through the breakage of the mainsuspensioncables and thosepossibly attendantl upon any unequal distribution ofthe load, the individin providedwitha plurality of rotary radially:

ual sagging of any onev of the radial supporting-arms, or wear on the bearings of the main shaft.V ,y L

' A still further object is to provide means whereby the apparatus maybe kept under per-4 fect control and the rotary movement maybe Y so controlled as to avoid a sudden reduction of speed in or stoppage of the apparatus.

. The invention consists inthe combination, with a tower, a vertical shaft journaledtheresean No. 125,725. on man.)

4-projected arms, means for driving said shaft and means whereby said arms may rotate in one Adirection independently of said driving mechanis'm, of a plurality of cars suspended therefromfby means of a pivotal connection between the suspension means and theV said arms whereby with the-rotation of said arms centrifugal force will act `to gradually force said cars outward radially of said arms' and upward, and in such other novel features of construction and arrangement of parts as are hereinafter' set forth and described, and more particularly pointed out' in the Vclaims hereto appended.

:Referring to the drawings,'Figure` 4is a gvieiw'in elevation of the apparatus, showing the upper and the lower portion thereof only.

Fig.V 2'is' a plan view of the lower portion thereof, the arrangement of the radially-projectedarms ,being indicated in dotted lines; and Fig. 3' is a detailview of the running-gear and' braking mechanism. v

VLike letters refer to like parts throughout the several views;

I lIn the practice of our invention We employ a tower, as a, preferably of structuralsteel work, suitably anchored and braced. At any desired point within this tower we arrange a horizontalplatform 5, upon which, if desired, maybe located a gas engine, motor, or other 1sourceof power. (Not shown.) Journaled in a bearing on or adjacent to this platform is a vertical shaft c, which extends above the top lofthe tower a. This shaft is suitably braced at different points topreventits springing or rotating out of true.A The various bearings for this shaft@ may be of any desired type;

butwe preferably employ ball or roller bear- -tache'd thereto, so as to rotate therewith, a hub d, `from which projects radially of the shaft c 1a plurality of arms arranged inpair's, as d di, Z2 d5, @Z3 d'6. The members of these'pairs of arms are disposed oppositelyea'ch other and are preferably of structural steel braced against lateral movement by means of the struts e. *Suspended from these arms are a plurality of passengerv baskets or. cars f, each of which is made to possess considerable Weight even when unloaded to insure stability of movement. The front of each car is arranged. like the prow of a boat or else cigar shaped to prevent as much as possible atmospheric resistance to the progress of the car through the air. The cars are suspended from the said arms by means of suspensioncables g g', arranged in pairs adjacent to each end of the car and attached thereto by means of eyebolts or other similar contrivances. As shown in the drawings, the cables at each side adjacent to one end of each car are secured to one of the radially-projected arms, as d', while the other pair are secured to the next succeeding arm, as cl2. The connections between these cables and their respective arms are preferably made by means of clevises; but other pivotal connections may be employed, it being essential merely that these cables be permitted to swing outward radially of the shaft c. Each car is also provided with two additional cables, as g2, similarly connectedV thereto and to the radial arms to take up the strain in case of breakage or other accident to the main cables. These emergency-cables are secured at opposite ends of each car midway between the other cables. The lower edge of the inner side of each car is provided with a spring-buer f', which preferably takes the form of a stili1 leaf-spring, extending substantially the entire length of the car. When the cars are at rest-that is,r upon the starting level-they preferably will be but a few inches from the ground, and to facilitate the entrance and exit of passengers and also to prevent the cars swinging in against the tower structure the earth is banked up about the base thereof, as at j, or some other style of buffer or abutment surrounding this base is provided to coperate with the buffersprings f to take up the jar of the contact of the car and the abutment when the former comes to rest.

To prevent the occupants from leaving the car or exposing themselves to danger prior to the car reaching a state of complete rest, any suitable means of securing them therein may be employed, as in other amusement devices of various classes.

To guard against material oscillation of the hub CZ and its arms or the sagging of these arms individually, we provide a circular track about the upper portion of the tower a and equip each arm with a brace, as la if h5 7L, the lower portion of which is provided with an antifriction-roller This roller is normally out of contact with the track 7i, although it moves adjacent .thereto and is adapted to engage therewith with the slightest oscillation of the entire hub or any particular arm.

The driving mechanism applied to the shaft c comprises a gear system, as 7c, actuated by any desired means and from any desired source of power. The maingear 7c of this system encircles but is not attached directly to the shaft @,imparting movement thereto through a ratchet c,carried by said shaft, and a pawl ,702 engaging therewith carried by the gear lo. This arrangement insures a smooth rotation of the shaft c when power is applied through the gear 70, and at the same time admits of the rotation of said shaft independently of said drivingmechanism, an arrangement the necessity for which will appear hereinafter.

To bring the device to a state of rest, we provide a brake, as m, preferably of a type known as roller-brakes, which is so adjusted as to be incapable of exerting sufficient braking force to suddenly bring the shaft to a dead stop. This brake is controlled by means of the hand-lever m 'and a lever system m2 between it and the frame m3 carrying the rollers m5.

-In the construction of the apparatus due attention must be given the direct vertical strain upon the arms d', &c., as well as the horizontal strain thereon due to the centrifugal i force exerted by the cars under all possible conditions, as modified by the corresponding strain on the oppositely-disposedarms.

The operation of the deviceY in so far as has not already beendescribed is asfollows: The shaft o being at rest and the cars all on the starting-level adjacent to the embankment or abutment j, power is applied to the gearing le.

As the gear le thereof rotates the pawl k2 picks up the shaft c by means of its ratchet c@ This rotates the hub d, the arms d', d2, cl3, ci?, d5, and d6, and the cars f suspended therefrom. Prior to the development of the proper speed these cars have a slight tendency to swing toward the tower, and if they should contact therewith the spring-buEe-rs f will take up the jar of such slight contactl with the bank or abutment j. As the number orrevolutionsper minute of the shaft c increases the cars f gradually swing outward away from the axis of said shaft and upward through the well-known action of centrifugal force, and it will be observed that with this movement the radius of the path they follow gradually increases, so that the actual speed of the cars increases more through this movement than by the actual increase in the number of revolutions of the shaft c. lWhen the` cars have reached the desired altitude, the speed of the driving mechanism is held there, and, if necessary, the brake m is applied to prevent the shaft c exceeding this speed through momentum. This action is attended with perfect safety to the occupants of the cars, as the centrifugal force prevents their falling therefrom. The individual safety appliances, however,are provided to prevent needless exposure to personalv danger through excitement, nervousness, or exhilaration. To restore the cars to the starting-level, it is necessary to gradually reduce the number of revolutions of the IOO shaft c. This is done by reducing the speed of the driving mechanism and by applying the brake fm. If the power were shut oif entirely, gravity would cause the cars to come into violent contact with the tower structure or through the great and sudden strain on the cables cause the breakage of said cables, and thus permit the cars to be projectedfrom the supporting-arms tangentially to the circular course to the ground, as would a too great a reduction of speed of said mechanism 'or a powerful braking action, were it not that the shaft c is rotatable independently of said mechanism and that the brakem is purposely rendered incapable of exerting too great a pressure. Vith the arrangement substantially as shown and described if the power be entirely shut off the acquired momentum is suflicient to maintain, substantially, the same degree of centrifugal force independently of said driving mechanism, the ratchet c' and pawl k2 facilitating this, and this force would be gradually exhausted through the load and the friction of the various parts. At any time the speed of the driving mechanism may be increased, and when it reaches or exceeds that of the shaft c it will automatically pick up the load. Hence, if desired, the speed of rotation may be changed tovary both the rate of travel and the altitude of the cars. The brake m may be applied by the operator to control the apparatus to a degree whereby it may be brought speedily to astate of rest; but being incapable of a braking power sufficient to bring the shaft to a dead stop such cannot result through accident. As the shaft cstops necessarily the cars will be subject to slight swinging movement, which will occasion contact thereof with the bank or abutment y'. The spring-buffers f take up the jar occasioned by such contact.v The cars maybe thus driven at a high rate of speed' with few revolutions per minute of the shaft c and with the expenditure of but little power. This speed, it is apparent, may be increased by increasing the length of the arms d', 85e., or the height of the tower a and length of the suspensioncables. The increase and decrease of speed is gradual, and the apparatus is at all times under perfect control.

1f through an unequal distribution of the load the hub CZ oscillates slightly, the'shaft c should spring, or one of the arms Vshould sag through weakness or breakage, some of the -rollers z' would immediately engage the track it and steady the entire device. If the main cables g g' should break, the emergency-cables g2 would assume the burden of the car and prevent accident. The use of the apparatus is therefore attended with no unusual or extraordinary dangers. All bearings are preferably antifriction to insure a smooth action of the apparatus, particularly when coming to rest.

Preferablyv the tower a should be about sixty feet in height and the arms ol', &c. about fifteen feet long, suiiicient to Vclear the base of the tower and embankment or other abutment thereabout.l We prefer to use cables for suspending'the cars; but it is apparent that rods might bev substituted therefor without altering the operation of the device. proportions and det-ails of construction, however, may be'varied indenitely without departing from the spirit or scope of our invention, and it is, therefore, not our intentionk Yto limit the invention to the details of construction as herein shown and described.

Having described the invention, what we claim as new, andV desire to have protected by Letters Patent, is t l. In an amusement apparatus, thecombination with a tower, a vertical shaft journaled therein, Va plurality of radially-projected arms actuated thereby, stays connecting said arms,

and a driving mechanism rotating said shaft, v

of a plurality of cars, suspension-cables disposed on each side of vand adjacent to each end of said cars respectively and means whereby the cables at the opposite ends of each car are pivotally connected to succeeding radial arms whereby said cars under the iniuence of centrifugal force are permitted to swing outwardly radially of said shaft and upwardly.

2. In an amusement apparatus, the combination with a tower, a vertical shaft journaled therein, a plurality of radially-projected arms actuated thereby, stays connecting said arms, a brake acting on said shaft and so set as to have limited braking capacity and a driving mechanism actuating said shaft, of aplurality of cars, suspension-cables disposed on each side of and adjacent to each end of .said cars respectively, and means whereby the cables at the opposite ends of each car are pivotally connected to succeeding radial arms whereby said cars under the influence of centrifugal force are permitted to'swing outwardly radially of said shaft and upwardly.

3. In an amusement apparatus, the combinationI with a tower, a vertical shaft journaled The given IOO IIO

therein, a plurality of radially-projected arms actuated thereby, stays connecting said arms, a driving mechanism rotating said shaft, means whereby said shaft is permitted to rotate in one direction independently of said driving mechanism and a brake acting on said shaft and so set as to have limited braking capacity, of a plurality of cars, suspension-cables disposed on each side of and adjacent to each end of said cars respectivelyand means whereby the cables at the opposite ends of each car are pivotally connected to succeeding radial arms whereby said cars under the iniiuence of centrifugal force are permitted to swing outwardlyV radially .of said shaft and upwardly. Y Y

4. In an amusement apparatus, the combination kwith a tower, a vertical shaft journaled therein, a plurality of radially-projected arms izo actuated thereby, stays connecting said arms, and spring-buffers disposed on the side of each and a driving mechanism rotating said shaft, car toward the tower.

of a plurality of cars, suspension-cables dis- In witness whereof We have hereunto affixed posed onv each side of and adjacent to each our signatures this 29th day of September, 5 end of said cars respectively, means whereby 1902.

the cables at the opposite ends of each car are HARRY G. TRAVER. pivotally connected to succeeding radial arms CHARLES W. NICHOLS. whereby said cars under the influence of cen- Witnesses: trifugal force are permitted to swing ou't- WARREN G. CHRISTNER,

IO wardly radially of said shaft and upwardly F. T. WENTWORTH. 

